People come in all different sizes and differently sized people often are most comfortable working at work surfaces that are at heights that are optimal for their specific size. For instance, while a person that is five feet tall may be most comfortable at a work surface that is 28.5 inches high, a person that is seven feet tall may be most comfortable at a work surface that is 31.5 inches high and likely would be uncomfortable at the 28.5 inch high surface.
In addition to wanting work surfaces at different heights, different people often want other furniture components at different heights as well either to accommodate their physical attributes or simply to create a certain aesthetic look or feel. For instance, by simply altering the space between the undersurface of a cabinet that resides above the top surface of a credenza, the entire look and feel of a furniture configuration can be altered. For example, where the credenza to cabinet space is twelve inches a sleek appearance results whereas a space of twenty-four or more inches can result in a more open and airy appearance.
To accommodate preferences of people of different sizes and different personal preferences regarding work surface height and the heights of other furniture components, the furniture industry has developed many different furniture systems that facilitate customized adjustment of work surface heights, shelf heights, cabinet heights, etc. Unfortunately, typically the components that facilitate work surface, shelf, cabinet, etc., height adjustment are not very elegant. To this end, work surface, shelf, cabinet, etc., height adjusting mechanisms often include unsightly telescoping structures, locking structures, fastening structures, exposed tracks or rails.
Where an application requires a more finished furniture appearance, unsightly systems that include structure to facilitate height adjustability often cannot be employed. For instance, in the case of an executive office, unsightly height adjustable structures simply are not desirable in most cases.
Instead of relying on height adjustable structures in customized height applications that require a more finished appearance, one solution has been to design and build customized furniture that meets specific user preferences. While customization results in optimized furniture, customization is extremely expensive and, in at least some cases, is cost prohibitive. In addition, where custom furniture is designed and built, typically the furniture cannot later be reconfigured to accommodate some other person's preferences.
Because of the costs and inflexibility associated with customization, in many cases where finished appearance is required, height adjustability is foregone and standard height work surfaces, shelves and cabinets are used.